Bibliocool-A Blog

Bibliocool is a word I heard spoken many, many years ago by Dave Bookman, a fellow who lived in the East Village in New York City. He was the first, and only person I have met, who made his living as an antiquarian book dealer and "private" detective. Bookman had a degree in Library Science and was working on some forensics degree at Fordham. In certain circles he was known as," that kid who can find anything." I met him on a few occasions because he was a friend of my girlfriend's brother. What bibliocool really meant is up for grabs although I think it meant, "very interesting" to him. It is a word I always liked and now use as the name of this blog which is about interesting library things and friends.

And, of course, Bookman was not his real name. It was a name he gave himself which was bibliocool.

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The views, opinions and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments on this blog are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of The Friends of the Memorial Hall Library.

08 Feb 2016 11:17 PM |
Anonymous

I love working preview night with you all ...as hard as we work, as dusty as we get we have FUN and so many laughs!!!I have a smile on my face right now thinking of the jokes last night!I think the sincere warm feelings we have for each other are felt by many of the buyers who come to the preview night sales ...did you notice how many people said "keep the change", or threw in and extra $10. or one woman $20. more donations than I remember from past sales.Preview night is almost like a family for example:when I asked the owner of "Manchester By The Book""you look fabulous you have lost weight!"and he gave me an ear to ear grin and said "Yes I have andI can't believe you even remember me"?or the elderly lady when I asked "your son is not with you tonight"? and she repliedher sonrecently past away but as we hugged she said "thank you so much for remembering him"!Our preview night sales have added money to our bank but lots of special moments to my life!

15 Jan 2016 7:00 PM |
Anonymous

So what's the deal with plastic sheeting and metal frames in the library?

Well, Friends, almost 30 years ago Memorial Hall Library constructed a much needed addition. Part of this addition was to be a roof deck on the main floor opposite the reference area. It was never completed. However, by late Spring that piece of the renovation will finally be complete.

The roof deck will let you step outside and enjoy a beautiful day even while you're industriously researching something of the utmost importance. It will also provide several more seats and a place to enjoy a cool drink or hot, if you prefer, while enjoying the view.

And by the way, your buddies at the Friends of the Library helped with the funding. Which causes me to wonder, is it time to change the name of the Friends of the Library to something more contemporary like, the Buds of The Library, or maybe the Library Homies, or even Library BFFs. Wait, you'll like this, the Library Peeps. But I digress-which is what you can do with a blog.

Below are some photos of the roof deck construction and a few graphics which were drawn by the library staff.

Below is a view from the Teen Room where the entrance to the deck is located.

A view from the other end of the roof deck where a lift entrance will be located.

23 Dec 2015 6:42 PM |
Anonymous

This the Christmas edition of the Friends Blog helping to make you merry and bright.

The New York Public Library Lions are ready for the Holidays. Just adding the wreath gave the

main entrance a festive look.

Also, this wedding party helped give the approach a cheerful look. The photos were taken on a Saturday night so the wedding or reception might have taken place in the library. Seems like a great idea to me.

If you happen to be in the Big Apple here are a few library related items for you. Visit The Library bar at Avenue A on the Lower East Side, a great "dive." It's cool little place and you can tell friends you spent the day doing research at the library.

And since I've strayed from Christmas to New York City bars, be sure to visit the bar on the top floor of the Hotel Indigo on the Lower East Side. You'll find this wonderful book sculpture as well as great views of Manhattan.

And speaking of sculptures here's two quick last minute do-it-yourself items for bibliophiles who finally get the Christmas and or Holiday spirit.

27 Oct 2015 5:23 PM |
Anonymous

What do the Friends do, anyway?

Well, Halloween is a good time for an explanation. No, I'm not trying to frighten you with a treatise on the Friends. This will be brief and there will be pictures (I miss making Powerpoint Presentations).

The Friends raise money so the library can provide additional services like Librarian Sarah Hodge-Wetherbey who presented her program about "Mysterious Massachusetts" - all the weird and spooky happenings and urban legends from our state. There's some good ones. Like theBridgewater Triangle and UFOs with a great alien abduction story. She also talked about the people who saw the Dover Devil not that long ago. Hodge-Wetherbey's talk was perfect for a Halloween warm up. She has spoken with many of the people who have encountered these strange phenomena and presentation is well documented. I really enjoyed it.

At the front entrance of the library you couldn't help but notice several scarecrows. The one with the shocking pink ensemble was created by the library staff. It is JEM of Jem and the Holograms.

The Friends sponsored this stunning piece in the Andover Coalition for Education's Annual Scarecrow Festival.

And those are two examples of what the Friends do.

Pretty good, right. Not long, just enough and with pictures.

Now go get your costume ready because the Friends have some cool swag if you go trick or treating at the library. But, you've got to have a costume.

09 Oct 2015 7:37 PM |
Anonymous

06 Oct 2015 12:59 PM |
Anonymous

Every now and then one finds interesting non-book items for bibliophiles in a store. Recently I found several in one store, abacus (sic) in Kennebunkport, Maine. Click on the photos below to see larger images.

15 Sep 2015 2:31 PM |
Anonymous

I know , I know it isn't technically over but it might as well be.

Labor Day weekend Ms. Blogger and I went to visit her family on Merrymeeting Lake in New Hampshire. It's not a long drive from Andover but it does get pretty rural. Along a particularly winding section we saw the Chichester Public Library pictured below. It reminded me that the Friends soon would be meeting, Andover day was coming as well as the Fall (the season next to Winter) Book Sale and that I had been less than active on the blog front.

I decided to photograph it to use it in this official end of summer blog post. If you want to read about this library go to Chichester Public Library. And by the way, they're having a book sale the same weekend as us.

10 Aug 2015 6:59 PM |
Anonymous

The Essex Street side of the library looks very nice this summer. These shrubs and flowers were funded by the Friends to help beautify this small patch of land above the wall. Be sure to look up and enjoy them as you walk past.

On the other side of the library (the Mobil station side) is the Bingham Garden. You can get to it by going through a gate on the right side of the Main Street entrance and walking down the steps. It's often a cool place to sit.